How much does it cost to have a private lunch with one of the world’s richest man and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet? Well, a person is ready to pay a whopping $19 million for the same.
The 21st and final time that Warren Buffett has auctioned lunch at an upscale steakhouse in New York to benefit a California charity has fetched a $19 million bid by an anonymous bidder on eBay. Apart from being his last, this would be the first time that Buffet has offered a private lunch since 2019, as the last two auctions were called off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The last highest bid for a private lunch with the billionaire was of $4.57 made by cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun in 2019, according to news agency Reuters. The winning bidder and up to seven of their guests will get to dine with Buffett at one of his favourite restaurants – Smith & Wollensky in New York City – according to the eBay listing.
The money raised from the lunch auction will benefit the Glide Foundation which works to address issues like poverty, homelessness and social justice. The Berkshire Hathaway CEO has generated around $34.5 million for Glide since the auction began in 2000.
Buffet had vowed that more than 99 per cent of his wealth will go to philanthropy during his lifetime or at death. Rather than establish his own foundation, the billionaire has poured his charitable money into five foundations run by others, especially the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – for which he served as a trustee until 2021.
Additionally, the 91-year-old has donated more than half of his Berkshire shares, with the donations worth about $45.5 billion at the time they were made to the Foundation since 2006. Meanwhile, Buffet has a net worth of $93.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
